Mr Ian Battersby: Weekly Update 24/02/17

We have a programme of compulsory and residential trips at BIS. Although some of our children have attended sporting residentials, this week we had the first two of our compulsory trips.

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Our Year 5 children were in Hoi An experiencing something of the culture but also taking part in some adventurous and exciting activities including abseiling from the top of Marble Mountain. Meanwhile, for some of our Year 3 children they spent their first night ever away from their parents when they slept over in the Sports Hall. To read more about the Year 5 trip to Hoi An and to see how the Year 3 children faired during their sleepover, please click on the links below.

F3 Adventures

F3 were lucky to have two very exciting days this week. The children have been following an interest about animals (they even have a vet’s clinic set up in the classroom) so on Tuesday they all went to the zoo. They had a great time and saw many different animals. You can see a full report below:

The adventures continued on Wednesday when instead of the F3 children (and the children in F1 and F2) arriving at school, a whole host of superheroes arrived in their place. I saw Batman, Superman, Supergirl, Spiderman, Elsa and some unknown new heroes, all of them ready to take up the cause of fighting crime and making the world a safer place. They headed off to BVIS to join other superheroes for a morning of superhero activities. You can find out more here:

Behaviour and Learning Coffee Morning

I have three children, a son in Year 10 and two daughters in Years 8 and 7. Without doubt, raising these three children is one of the hardest things I’ve done. Children are all so different and they respond to different styles of parenting; the key is ‘insistency’ and ‘consistency’. You have to establish a set number of clear rules and insist that your child follows them, and be consistent with the consequences if they do not.

It was wonderful to see so many parents join Mr Steve and Ms Clarissa for their coffee morning on Wednesday. They shared a number of ideas and tips that may help. Mr Steve has put together a blog post that you may find useful:

SISAC Cross Country Competition

The Saigon International School Athletic Conference (SISAC) is an interschool collaboration which organises opportunities to the international schools in Ho Chi Minh City to meet and compete in a variety of sports. On Tuesday of this week children from TX competed against a number of other schools in the annual cross-country competition. Although the results are yet to be announced, please click on the link to find out more about this event:

School Photographs

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, Mr Johnny Woo will be at TX to take individual and group photos of the children. For the first time this year, there are a limited number of times available for siblings to have photos together. These will be after school on Monday and Tuesday. If you would like to have family photos taken, please contact Ms Van (vanphohoang@bisvietnam.com) in the office who can book you a time. Please note, if you do have photos taken, you will need to pay for them at the time.

Monday 27th Feb

Tuesday 28th Feb

Wednesday 1st March

5X

F1

Music group (MP1 choir)

2T

F3T

4T

6T

F2

4X

1X

F3X

Sports Teams

Music Groups

1T

5T

6X

3T

3X

2X

Pick-up and Drop-off

Following guidance from the police, we are currently making some adjustments to the way children are picked up and dropped off before and after school. In order to keep the pavement in front of school clear, I ask that motorbikes be parked just inside the main gate, and that cars drive closer to the school gate. Please follow the guards’ directions. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Juilliard Summer School

Next summer, give your child the chance to explore their creative talents and work with renowned artists in one of the most beautiful cities in the world—Geneva, Switzerland. Applications for Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard 2017 will open in December, but interested students should register their interest now to receive the latest details.

Parents Corner

The TX School Fete is next week! Click the link below to take a look at the preparations that have been happening this week and how you can get involved with the TX School Fete. Be sure to purchase your raffle tickets and tokens from the parents in the foyer before and after school next week.

You may recall that in October we had a visit from Paul Murphy, an affiliate of the Juilliard School in New York. Our music programme has gone from strength to strength as we continue to develop and use the materials produced by Juilliard and the training for Mr Jon and the other members of the music team. It was with great pleasure that we welcomed Paul back to TX this week. He told me how much he enjoyed working with BIS as we already have a strong music programme upon which he and his colleagues can build. I am certain we will see the evidence of this at the Spring Concert, ‘Whatever the Weather’, next week at the Ben Thanh Theatre.